therapy

Diagnosing Hearing Loss

Difficulty hearing is a common problem that increases with age. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) You should see your doctor or hearing specialist if you: Have trouble hearing over the telephone Find it hard to follow conversations when two or more people are talking Often ask people to repeat what they are […]

Do I Have Meniere’s Disease, or is it Something Else?

Meniere’s Disease is a serious disorder of the inner ear that very few people are familiar with, but that affects between 3.5 per 100.000 and 513 per 100.000 people in the population. This ear disease can occur at any age, though it is most common in adults between the ages of 20 and 50. By […]

Sleeping with Tinnitus

Tinnitus may interfere with your sleeping. In the quiet of your bedroom the constant ringing or buzzing in your ear may become particularly annoying and deprive you of a good night’s rest. However, you can take several steps to help you sleep better with tinnitus. The RNID fact sheet about tinnitus and sleep provides the […]

Hearing Loss After a Stroke

You may already know that strokes can lead to paralysis, trouble speaking and swallowing, memory and reasoning issues and more. You may not know, however, that strokes can also cause hearing loss. If you or a loved one has suffered a stroke, there are some signs that you can look out for. Of course, in […]

October is National Protect Your Hearing Month

Many of us go through our everyday lives without stopping to think about our hearing, which is why National Protect Your Hearing Month is so important. Awareness of the potential dangers of hearing loss is important because it affects a large number of people, and noise-induced hearing loss is completely preventable. However, once the damage is done […]

What is the Best Way to Clean My Ears?

You’ve probably heard that you shouldn’t use cotton swabs to clean out your ears, but what should you do if they become blocked? Earwax, otherwise known as cerumen, is a thick substance your ear produces in order to protect itself. It generally moves outward in the ear canal from the movement of your jaw when […]

Men and Women Tend to Avoid Getting Hearing Aids Promptly

A common category of hearing loss is Age Related Hearing Loss (ARHL) that worsens over time. While men tend to have greater hearing loss than women of similar age (Ritgers et al 2018), women and men with similar self-perception of hearing difficulty tend to accept hearing aids as treatment at a similar rate (Fisher et […]

Traveling with Hearing Aids

Traveling with a hearing aid means you need to make some extra preparations. These tips will help ensure that you are prepared for whatever surprises travel throws your way. When flying, keep your necessities in your carry-on bag The last thing you want is for your vital accessories to be tucked away deep within a […]

You’re Never Too Cool for Hearing Care

For far too long there has been a perception about hearing loss as being an impairment as well as a stigma around the use of hearing aid technology as being a sign of old age. While it is sadly true that age-related hearing loss may be an impairment, younger individuals suffer from hearing loss due […]

Better Hearing or Better Listening?

Hearing is a critically important sense for typical development of speech and language which carries us through the formative years of learning and socializing so unique to humankind.  Loss of hearing can come from illness, heredity, noise exposure, among a variety of other causes.  As we mature and approach retirement age, Age Related Hearing Loss […]

Loneliness, Social Isolation and a Pandemic, Oh My!

The worldwide impact of implementation of unprecedented social distancing and limitations on social activities because of the COVID-19 pandemic may have helped control the spread of the disease but impacted older adults disproportionally.  In a report from May of last year Hwang and colleagues noted:  “…there is a high cost associated with the essential quarantine […]

COVID Linked to Hearing Loss, Tinnitus

Throughout 2020 COVID-19 had us hiding out at home, washing our hands, wiping down surfaces and masking up. Quite a bit wasn’t known for some time. We knew about flu-like symptoms and disturbances in smell and taste, but not enough about the full spectrum of effects. A year later now, evidence is emerging about symptoms of […]

Are Men or Women More Impacted by Hearing Loss?

Most people know that older adults are more likely to develop hearing loss as a result of Age-Related Hearing Loss (ARHL), but does a person’s gender also have an impact on their chances of having hearing problems? Men are more likely than women to develop hearing loss Decades of research data have shown that, regardless […]

Is Your Hearing Aid Working for You?

If you have difficulty hearing and have taken the wise step to acquire hearing aids, one important job is to maintain them and be alert for problems that you may be able to solve at home. The longer you use hearing aids, the easier it is to realize just how important they are and how […]

Steps to Hearing Success

The following principles have been used by thousands of hearing aid wearers to successfully transition to better hearing health: 1. Awareness We may not know what we haven’t heard because we didn’t hear it! Many of us don’t recognize the insidious onset of age-related hearing loss because it is not a sudden phenomenon. Family members […]

Hearing Loss Stats You Shouldn’t Ignore

Many of these hearing loss stats may be surprising, but they illustrate just how common the condition is, and how important it is for many Americans to seek treatment. Factors closely tied to hearing loss Hearing loss may result from illness, genetic predisposition, head injury or noise exposure to name a few. One thing we […]

How long should my hearing aids last?

Typically, hearing aids will last three to five years depending on usage, but various things can affect a hearing aid’s lifetime. Do you wear them all day every day? Do you live in a humid or dusty environment? Do you take good care of them? Hearing aids can function longer than five years, but many […]

Livio Edge AI honored with Innovation Award

The annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is the most prestigious and well-known trade show in consumer electronics. Each year, revolutionary technology is put on display for many different categories. The Starkey Livio Edge AI has been honored with the Innovation Award for Edge mode. This feature uses artificial intelligence to listen to the environment and […]

A Home Run for Better Hearing

The sound of a baseball hitting a bat, wind blowing through the leaves on a tree, your mom’s voice saying, “I love you” are simple pleasures in life. During the little league season in 2018, hearing instrument specialist Andrew Roth of Hear for You in Amsterdam and Ballston Spa, NY was coaching and noticed a […]

Tracking Body and Brain Health with Your Livio AI Hearing Aids

Can your hearing aids track how many steps you’ve taken?  Can they tell you how many hours you’ve used them or how well you’ve engaged in communication? This is now possible with the new Livio AI and Thrive Hearing app. Now, you can easily manage aspects of your wellness with the simple press of a […]

New Starkey Technology

Breaking News — A Hearing Revolution Has Begun! Introducing the New The world’s first hearing aid to feature integrated sensors and artificial intelligence. Imagine a hearing aid that can: • Measure body and brain health • Translate languages • Receive adjustments from your provider remotely • Stream music, TV and phone calls • Reduce background […]

Hearing Aid Feedback

Have you ever heard someone’s hearing aid buzzing and whistling? Nobody wants their hearing aids to whistle. Hearing aid feedback happens for two reasons: either the hearing aid doesn’t fit correctly or there is too much power. In both cases, sound from the hearing aid leaks out of the ear and is re-amplified by the […]

High Blood Pressure and Hearing Loss

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 70 million adults in the United States have high blood pressure, or hypertension. That amounts to nearly one in three adults; furthermore, another one in three adults are living with elevated blood pressure results that are below the level considered to be high blood pressure […]

Hearing Loss Studies: Life is Worth Hearing

Hearing loss is one of the most common health issues in the world. In the United States, 12 percent of the population, or 38 million people, have a significant hearing loss. Yet, only one out of every five people who could benefit from hearing aids actually wears them. Reduced hearing acuity can not only be […]

Verification and Validation: Are You Hearing As Well As You Should Be?

“Are you hearing as well as you should be?” seems like a simple question. Believe it or not, that is actually one of the hardest questions for my patients to answer. Typically, patients respond with, “I don’t know” or “How can I tell?” That is the main reason why verification and validation are some of […]

Hearing and Memory Loss

Did you know that your hearing, or lack thereof, can affect your memory? People with poor hearing often mistakenly feel that their hearing loss only affects their ability to hear other people. They do not realize that hearing loss has a far greater impact. Over the last ten years there have been numerous studies linking […]

Earwax and Hearing Loss

One of the most common causes of hearing loss is earwax, or cerumen, blocking sound from reaching the eardrum. This occurs when the wax is pushed back toward the eardrum or if the ears produce more wax than is needed. Earwax is also the most common cause of hearing aid malfunctions. A tiny amount of […]

Ask An Audiologist: What Is Tinnitus?

Tinnitus is described as any abnormal ear noise and can arise in the outer ear, the middle ear, the inner ear or the brain.  It is not a disorder in and of itself, but rather a symptom and may be perceived as ringing, buzzing or humming. Some people describe it as a “clicking” or “pulsing” […]

Aural Rehabilitation Exercises

You have taken, or are planning to take, a wise first step, the investment in hearing instruments. Hearing aids help you to hear sounds which are interpreted by your brain. This brain stimulation is an important part of hearing health. The following aural rehabilitation exercises will allow you to increase brain stimulation and improve your […]

Sudden Hearing Loss

Sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSHL), commonly known as sudden hearing loss, should be considered a medical emergency. As professionals, we train our patients to see their family doctor at the onset of a sudden hearing loss, and if the doctor can’t immediately see the patient, to go to their nearest emergency room. Why is treatment […]

Why Are Hearing Aid Prices So Different?

Your family has been telling you over the last few years you need to get your hearing checked. Since then, you noticed you have been asking people to repeat themselves. You need to really strain to be able to understand conversations. The ringing in your ears appears to be getting louder. It seems like everyone […]

Hearing Loss and End-of-Life Care

“I know I should wear hearing aids, but why should I bother?  I don’t know how much longer I’m going to be around!” We hear this kind of response all the time in our many offices.  There is usually a moment of laughter and a casual disagreement of their objection.  The truth, according to new […]

Welcome to Starting Hear – The official blog of Hear For You!

Thanks for visiting our new blog!  In the days to come, we’ll feature useful information on a variety of topics related to better hearing and hearing care.      The facts about hearing loss in America are stunning:   1 in 3 people over the age of 60 have hearing loss. 1 in 6 Baby […]

Tinnitus And What To Do About It

Brian Secemsky, M.D.   The Curbside Consult: My Ears Are Ringing! Posted: 09/11/2012  5:15 pm  This past week, I was hanging out at a café with my good friend Molly doing what I do best: complaining.  Because Molly happens to be a doctor of audiology, I decided to customize my generic and drawn-out rants to […]

Welcome to Our Hearing Health Blog

Welcome to our Blog, an online forum designed to educate, illuminate, share your experiences with hearing impairment. We understand that addressing a hearing loss can seem to be an unnerving concept initially, and we would like to help ease some of your anxieties by making the process enjoyable and hassle-free. You may see some posts […]